BFG is best known for its high-end gaming cards, but with the GeForce 6600GT OC the company proves it can do top-notch graphics cards for a more general audience. The BFG 6600GT OC delivers reasonable 3D performance at half the price of a state-of-the-art card.

The card is fundamentally pretty similar to other entries based on the nVidia GeForce 6600GT chipset, but with one important difference. Notice the OC in the name? Well, BFG overclocks the GPU up to 525 MHz from the stock 500 MHz. Memory speed is also boosted 5 percent from the default, to 1,050 MHz (up from 1,000 MHz). Though you can overclock most other video cards, BFG does it at the factory and then backs the card with a lifetime warranty (plus 24/7 tech support).

There are a few other attributes worth talking about. Most noticeable is the stylish blue color, with a soft glowing blue LED that lights up; if you have a PC chassis with a window side panel, you'll appreciate this extra. BFG has configured this card with dual DVI connectors, which is common on high-end video cards but not on sub-$300 cards (two DVI-to-VGA dongles are also included). A small video output plug attaches to a short dongle with S-Video, composite, and component outputs. That's a nice touch, as most cards using nVidia's chips don't include component output connectors. When it comes to value-added bonuses, BFG's offering is pretty light. The drivers are rebranded nVidia reference drivers, and BFG doesn't include any games (just a disc of game demos that anyone could download off the Web).

The small amount of overclocking makes only a very slight difference in benchmark-test performance, but that's on top of the GeForce 6600GT GPU's already commendable bang for the buck. The card delivered good scores on 3DMark 05 at both 1,280-by-1,024 (2,181) and 1,600-by-1,200 (2,179) resolutions. Frame rates in Far Cry (49 frames per second), Doom 3 (around 47 fps), and Half-Life 2 (around 44 fps) were very playable for a card not priced in the stratosphere. Dialing back some of the games' fancy extras should net you even better rendering speed.

If you're looking for a good 3D accelerator (and can't afford a great one), the BFG 6600GT OC should be on your list.

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